Thursday, July 28, 2016

THE MAID OF THE MOUNTAINS—A SENSATION!

The
Maid of the Mountains, is a musical play in three acts. The
book was written by Frederick Lonsdale (1881-1954), lyrics by Harry Graham (1874-1936)
and music by Harold Fraser-Simson (1872-1944).This is not a war play, but it was created to allow audiences to escape
the war for a few hours. It became the most successful play in the United
Kingdom. The Maid of the Mountains opened
at the Palace Theatre in Manchester on December 23, 1916. The London premier
was at Daly’s Theatre on February 10, 1917 and ran for 1,352 consecutive performances.
The Maid of the Mountains played
continuously for a five year period.

Frederick Lonsdale had
several musical plays produced in London prior to his success with The Maid of the Mountains. He began his
career in 1908 with the musical play King
of Cadonia that was a London success; it also played on Broadway during
January 1910.Following World War One,
Lonsdale became established as a writer of successful comedies that placed him
in the ranks of Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward.

Harry Graham began his
full-time writing career in 1906 as a journalist and a poet of light verses. During World War One, Graham became a lyricist
for operettas and musicals. Within three years, he wrote lyrics for three
musicals.The Maid of the Mountains was his third venture. While he was
successful as a lyricist, he is primarily remembered for his light verses.

Harold Fraser-Simson
began his career as a composer for musicals in 1911 with a comic opera titled Bonita. His music for this production
was successful enough for Fraser-Simson to be remembered five years later and then
offered the opportunity to score The Maid
of the Mountains. Several of his songs in this show became individual
hits—“Farewell” in Act One, “Husbands and Wives” in Act Two and “Love Will Find
a Way” from the same act.The
extraordinary success of The Maid of the
Mountains established him as one of the era’s most significant musical composers.

ACT I of The Maid of the Mountains is set in the
mountains.A band of brigands, led by a
dashing chieftain named Baldasarre, vex the people of an area in southern
Europe. Baldassarre decides to disband his group of brigands. Teresa, The Maid of the Mountains, is the one
woman member of this feared group.The
Governor of the area, named General Malona, is retiring from his governorship.
He has tried unsuccessfully to find the brigand’s hideout. Malona captures
Teresa as she is leaving the safety of the mountains. She is to be held hostage
until Baldasarre presents himself to the Governor.

ACT II is in the courtyard
of the Governor’s Palace. Baldasarre posing as the New Governor arrives at the
palace to rescue Teresa. Baldasarre had captured the actual new Governor as he
was traveling to this territory. Teresa becomes jealous when Baldasarre falls
in love with General Malona’s daughter. Teresa reveals Baldasarre’s real
identity.He is immediately arrested.

ACT III takes place on an
island. Baldasarre and the brigands are imprisoned on this island. Teresa comes
to the island to save him.Baldasarre
realizes his true love for Teresa and as the play ends they escape from the island.

There is a secondary
comic plot that relates to Tonio, a member of the brigand band, and his wife,
Vittoria.

Part of the success of The Maid of the Mountains was due to the
excellent production as well as the superb acting and singing of Miss José
Collins (1887-1958) who played the title role of Teresa, the Maid.Miss Collins’s obituary in the London Times on December 8, 1958 stated
that the production of The Maid of the
Mountains “came in the dark days of the First World War and brought into the
theatre beautiful music, colourful acting and glorious stage mounting to
delight not only those who were forced to remain in London but the troops on
leave from overseas.”The article went
on to state that Daly’s Theatre “became the Mecca of all who wanted to get away
for a few brief hours from the realities of everyday life.”

The
Maid of the Mountains had touring companies from London that
crisscrossed Great Britain throughout the five years the production continued
to play at Daly’s Theatre. The quality of these touring productions was
excellent and the performances were sold out.These companies returned to each city multiple times throughout the
1920s and 1930s. The musical was revived in London several times and as late as
1972.

The Vancouver Daily World reported on December 24, 1920 that “the
all-British production of The Maid of the
Mountains will be presented by Trans-Canada Theatres, Limited and Percy
Hutchison. This production is identical in every essential detail with that
made in London.” This production played a coast to coast tour of Canada.The Ottawa
Journal on December 1, 1923 announced a second tour of The Maid of the Mountains by a new company. The article claims that
during the first tour in 1920 “thousands were unable to secure seats, and even
with that the ‘Maid’ broke all Canadian theatrical records.”This report also mentioned “the everlasting
boosting by every returned Canadian soldier” who saw the London production.

The
Maid of the Mountains was also a sensation in Australia for
many years. The first production was presented in 1917 and it was followed by a
new 1923 production. The Maid of the
Mountains also played on Broadway for thirty-seven performances from
September 11, 1918 through October 12, 1918.It was Lonsdale’s fifth musical to play in the United States since 1910.

A film version of The Maid of the Mountains was made in
1932 by British International Pictures. Lupino Lane (1892-1959) is credited as
the director of this film that was released in March, 1933.

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Rhoda-Gale Pollack

About me

The opportunity to play a walk-on role when I was a first grader shaped my career choice. Being on stage was the dream that lead me to Carnegie-Mellon University where I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre. During my undergraduate days, I began directing plays and working with costume design.

A one year costume position in the Department of Theatre at the University of California, Berkeley revealed a new idea of career heaven that worked perfectly for my other life roles as a mother and wife. While working at professional theatre jobs in the San Francisco Bay area, I taught theatre courses at Mills College as well as San Francisco State University where I had previously completed my Master of Arts in Theatre. Eventually I earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Theatre degree from Stanford University.